U.S. patent number 5,000,654 [Application Number 07/458,235] was granted by the patent office on 1991-03-19 for reciprocating drive apparatus for automatic molding removing machine.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Star Seiki Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Yosuke Shiotani.
United States Patent |
5,000,654 |
Shiotani |
March 19, 1991 |
Reciprocating drive apparatus for automatic molding removing
machine
Abstract
A reciprocating drive apparatus for an automatic molding
removing machine designed to remove a molded product from a molding
machine by moving a chuck member, at least, in the longitudinal
direction with a traveling member which is supported on a machine
frame so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction. The
reciprocating drive apparatus comprises a movable frame supported
on the machine frame so as to movable in the longitudinal
direction, the movable frame having a longitudinal dimension which
is approximately half the distance of travel of the traveling
member, a drive member for reciprocating the movable frame, a belt
stretched between pulleys supported on two longitudinal end
portions, respectively, of the movable frame, the belt having a
portion thereof secured to the machine frame, and a movable member
supported on the movable frame so as to be movable in the
longitudinal direction, the movable member having a portion of the
belt secured thereto and further having the traveling member
attached thereto. Thus, when a molded product is automatically
removed from the molding machine, it is possible to drive the chuck
member to move horizontally through a distance which is
approximately double the working stroke of the drive member and at
a speed which is also approximately double the speed of the drive
member.
Inventors: |
Shiotani; Yosuke (Nagoya,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Star Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aichi,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
23819929 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/458,235 |
Filed: |
December 28, 1989 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
198/750.11;
198/750.12; 264/334; 425/444; 425/556; 74/110; 74/37; 901/16;
901/21 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29C
37/0007 (20130101); B29C 45/42 (20130101); B29C
2045/4266 (20130101); Y10T 74/18992 (20150115); Y10T
74/18152 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B29C
37/00 (20060101); B29C 45/42 (20060101); B65G
065/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;264/334
;425/139,436R,436RM,444,554,556 ;901/6,7,15,18,16,21,22
;74/37,110,89.2 ;414/225,749,750,751,752,753 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
36866 |
|
Oct 1978 |
|
JP |
|
2032018 |
|
Feb 1987 |
|
JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Heitbrink; Timothy
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Frishauf, Holtz, Goodman &
Woodward
Claims
What we claim is:
1. An automatic molding removing machine comprising:
a machine frame having opposed end portions and a longitudinal
dimension;
a travelling member supported on the machine frame, said travelling
member being movable in a longitudinal direction of said machine
frame;
reciprocating drive means for moving said travelling member
relative to said machine frame over a first distance of travel;
a transverse cross frame arranged substantially transverse to the
longitudinal direction of said machine frame, said transverse cross
frame being attached to said travelling member;
a cross travelling member supported on the transverse cross frame
and movable along said transverse cross frame over a second
distance of travel;
cross drive means for moving said cross travelling member along
said transverse cross frame;
a vertically actuated drive member mounted to said cross travelling
member; and
chuck means for holding and moving a molded product, said chuck
means being coupled to said vertically actuated drive member so as
to be movable between an upper position and a lower position by
actuation of said vertically actuated drive member for thereby
vertically moving said molded product;
said reciprocating drive means comprising:
a movable frame supported on said machine frame, said movable frame
being movable in the longitudinal direction of said machine frame
between said end portions of said machine frame, said movable frame
having end portions and a longitudinal dimension of approximately
half the first distance of travel of said travelling member;
frame drive means for reciprocating said movable frame;
at least two pulleys rotatably supported on respective longitudinal
end portions of said movable frame;
a belt stretched between said at least two pulleys, said belt
having a portion thereof secured to said machine frame; and
a movable member supported on said movable frame, said movable
member being movable in a longitudinal direction of said travelling
member, said movable member having a portion secured to said belt
and said movable member being attached to said travelling
member.
2. The automatic molding removing machine of claim 1, wherein said
frame drive means comprises a cylinder having a working stroke
which is approximately half the longitudinal dimension of the
machine frame.
3. The automatic molding removing machine of claim 1, wherein said
frame drive means comprises:
a motor coupled to said machine frame; and
a feed screw coupled to said motor, said screw being rotatably
meshed with said movable frame.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a reciprocating drive apparatus
designed to reciprocate a traveling member of an automatic molding
removing machine.
A typical automatic molding removing machine for automatically
removing moldings from a molding machine has a reciprocating drive
apparatus for horizontally reciprocating a chuck member that holds
moldings. In one type of a generally known reciprocating drive
apparatus, a pinion that is provided on the rotary shaft of an
electric motor attached to a traveling member is meshed with a rack
secured to a machine frame so that the traveling member is
reciprocated in response to the drive of the motor.
In another conventional reciprocating drive apparatus, a rod of a
cylinder that is attached to the machine frame is secured to a
traveling member so that the traveling member is reciprocated in
response to the operation of the cylinder.
These prior art apparatuses suffer, however, from the following
problems.
In the former prior art apparatus, a high-output and high-torque
electric motor is used under the necessity of moving the traveling
member at high speed in order to shorten the time required to
effect molding removal. In this case, since the overall weight of
the traveling member having the motor attached thereto increases
and consequently the inertia acting on the traveling member when
traveling increases, complicated braking control must be conducted
for the motor in order to stop the traveling member within a short
time and with a high degree of accuracy and a shock absorber is
needed, which results in a rise in the overall cost of the
apparatus.
In the latter prior art apparatus, a cylinder having an axial
length corresponding to the travel of the traveling member is
needed, which results in an increase in the overall size of the
molding removing machine. In particular, when the travel of the
traveling member is long, a large-sized cylinder is needed, which
results in a rise in the overall cost of the apparatus.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims at solving the above-described problems
of the prior art, and it is a primary object of the invention to
provide a reciprocating drive apparatus for an automatic molding
removing machine which is designed so that it is possible with a
short-stroke drive member to move a traveling member through a
distance which is approximately double the working stroke of the
drive member and at a speed which is also approximately double the
speed of the drive member and hence possible to reduce the overall
size, weight and cost of the apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this end, the present invention provides a reciprocating drive
apparatus for an automatic molding removing machine designed to
remove a molded product from a molding machine by moving a chuck
member, at least, in the longitudinal direction with a traveling
member which is supported on a machine frame so as to be movable in
the longitudinal direction, the reciprocating drive apparatus
comprising: a movable frame supported on the machine frame so as to
be movable in the longitudinal direction, the movable frame having
a longitudinal dimension which is approximately half the distance
of travel of the traveling member; a drive member for reciprocating
the movable frame; a belt stretched between pulleys supported on
two longitudinal end portions, respectively, of the movable frame,
the belt having a portion thereof secured to the machine frame; and
a movable member supported on the movable frame so as to be movable
in the longitudinal direction, the movable member having a portion
of the belt secured thereto and further having the traveling member
attached thereto.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings show in combination one embodiment of the
present invention, in which like reference numerals denote like
elements, and of which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an automatic molding
removing machine;
FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the automatic molding removing
machine shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the automatic molding removing
machine shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the automatic molding removing
machine shown in FIG. 1, which shows the way in which the movable
frame is moved; and
FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a modification of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
One embodiment of the present invention will be described below
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an automatic molding removing machine 3
has a machine frame 5 which is attached to a molding machine (not
shown). The machine frame 5 extends horizontally as viewed in FIG.
1 and has a guide rail 7 rigidly secured to the upper side thereof
so as extend in a longitudinal direction of the machine frame 5. A
movable frame 9 is supported on the guide rail 7 so as to be
movable in the longitudinal direction. The movable frame 9 has a
longitudinal dimension which is approximately half that of the
machine frame 5. The movable frame 9 is moved between two
longitudinal ends of the automatic molding removing machine 3.
To the right-hand end of the movable frame 9 (as viewed in FIG. 1)
is secured a rod 11a of a cylinder 11 that is mounted on the
machine frame 5 to serve as a drive member. The cylinder 11 has a
working stroke which is approximately half the longitudinal
dimension of the machine frame 5. In response to the operation of
the cylinder 11, the movable frame 9 is moved to reciprocate
between the two longitudinal ends of the machine frame 5. A guide
rail 13 is attached to the movable frame 9 so as to extend in the
longitudinal direction, and a pair of pulleys 15a and 15b are
rotatably supported on the movable frame 9 at respective positions
corresponding to the two longitudinal ends of the guide rail 13. A
belt 17 is stretched between the pulleys 15a and 15b. A portion of
the belt 17 is secured to a securing plate 19 which is provided on
an approximately central portion of the machine frame 5 in the
longitudinal direction thereof. A movable member 21 is supported on
the guide rail 13 so as to be movable in the longitudinal
direction. Another portion of the belt 17 is secured to the movable
member 21. It should be noted that shock-absorbing members 22 are
attached to two longitudinal ends, respectively, of the machine
frame 5 so as to abut against the corresponding ends of the movable
frame 9.
A traveling member 23 is attached to the movable member 21, and a
cross frame 25 is attached to the traveling member 23 so as to
extend in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction
of the machine frame 5 (the direction in which the cross frame 25
extends being hereinafter referred to as "the cross direction"). A
pair of upper and lower guide rails 27 are attached to the cross
frame 25 so as to extend in the cross direction. A cross traveling
member 29 is supported on the guide rails 27 so as to be movable in
the cross direction. The cross traveling member 29 is in thread
engagement with a feed screw 33 which is coupled to the rotary
shaft of an electric motor 31 attached to the traveling member 23
so that the cross traveling member 29 is moved in the cross
direction in response to the drive of the motor 31. A vertical
cylinder 35 is attached to the cross traveling member 29 in such a
manner that its longitudinal axis extends vertically. A chuck
member 37 is attached to a rod 35a of the vertical cylinder 35. The
chuck member 37 holds an injection-molded product to move it from a
specific removal position to a specific release position.
The operation of the automatic molding removing machine 3, arranged
as described above, will next be explained with reference to FIGS.
1, 3 and 4.
The way in which the movable frame 9 is reciprocated will first be
explained. Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, if the cylinder 11 is
activated when the movable frame 9 is at the left end (as viewed in
these figures) of the machine frame 5 as shown in FIG. 3, the
movable frame 9 is moved on the guide rail 7 toward the right-hand
side as viewed in the figures. Since a portion of the belt 17 that
is stretched between the pulleys 15a and 15b attached to the two
longitudinal end portions of the movable frame 9 is secured to an
approximately central portion of the machine frame 5, the belt 17
travels in the direction of the solid-line arrow A shown in FIG. 3
in response to the movement of the movable frame 9. Further, since
another portion of the belt 17 is secured to the movable member 21
supported on the guide rail 13 provided on the movable frame 9, as
the belt 17 travels, the movable member 21 is moved in the
direction of the illustrated solid-line arrow B through a distance
which is approximately double the distance of travel of the movable
frame 9 and at a speed which is also approximately double the speed
of travel of the movable frame 9.
By the operation described above, the traveling member 23 that is
attached to the movable member 21 is moved to reciprocate between
the removal and release positions which are located at the two
longitudinal ends, respectively, of the machine frame 5, as shown
in FIG. 4.
The operation of removing a molded product from the mold will next
be explained. When the movable frame 9 is moved to the removal
position at the left-hand end of the machine frame 5 (as viewed in
FIG. 3) by the above-described function of the reciprocating drive
apparatus, the chuck member 37 is lowered into the area between a
pair of molds opened by the action of the vertical cylinder 35
operated. Next, the cross traveling member 29 is moved in the
direction of the solid-line arrow C shown in FIG. 1 by the action
of the feed screw 33 rotated by the electric motor 31 that is
driven in this state, so that the chuck member 37 is brought into
contact with a molded product retained in the pair of molds so as
to hold it. Next, the motor 31 is reversed to move the cross
traveling member 29 in the direction of the solid-line arrow D
shown in FIG. 1, so that the molded product held by the chuck
member 37 is extracted from the mold.
After the above-described operation, the vertical cylinder 35 is
moved upward, so that the molded product held by the chuck member
37 is taken out of the mold. Thereafter, the cylinder 11 is
activated to effect the above-described reciprocating movement of
the traveling member 23. That is, the traveling member 23 is moved
to the release position through a distance which is approximately
double the working stoke of the cylinder 11 and at a speed which is
also approximately double the speed of the cylinder 11. At the
release position, the molded product is released from the chuck
member 37, thus completing the removal operation. It should be
noted that, when the chuck member 37 is moved to the release
position, the molded product may be released from the chuck member
37 after the chuck member 37 has been moved to a desired position
by properly driving the vertical cylinder 35 and the motor 31, if
such an operation is needed due to the positional relationship
between the release position and the chuck member 37 thereat.
Thus, it is possible with this embodiment to drive the chuck member
37 to move horizontally through a distance which is approximately
double the working stroke of the cylinder 11 and at a speed which
is also approximately double the speed of the cylinder 11 when a
molded product is automatically removed from the mold. Accordingly,
it is possible to move the chuck member 37 at high speed and
through a relatively long distance by use of the cylinder 11 which
has a relatively short axial length and hence a relatively low
cost.
Although in the foregoing description the cylinder 11 is used as a
drive member to move the movable frame 9, other types of drive
member may be employed in place of the cylinder 11. FIG. 5 shows a
modification of the present invention, in which a feed screw 61 is
rotatably supported between the right end portion and central
portion of the automatic molding removing machine 3 and coupled to
a motor 63 attached to the automatic molding removing machine 3 and
the right end portion of the movable frame 9 is meshed with the
feed screw 61 so that the movable frame 9 is moved on the automatic
molding removing machine 3 in response to the rotation of the feed
screw 61 driven by the motor 63.
Although the present invention has been described through specific
terms, it should be noted here that the described embodiment is not
necessarily exclusive and that various changes and modifications
may be imparted thereto without departing from the scope of the
invention which is limited solely by the appended claims.
* * * * *